By MEGAN THIELKING @meggophone   –   STAT

First cookie dough, now cheddar biscuits — even more foods are getting dusted up in the flour recall that’s burning baked good lovers everywhere.

Federal officials on Thursday announced a recall of Marie Calender’s Cheese Biscuit Mix, the latest in a string of recalls tied to flour tainted by E. coli bacteria. The contaminated flour — produced at a General Mills facility in Missouri — is behind at least 42 cases of food-borne illness across 21 states, leading to 11 hospitalizations.

The company recalled the flour in May and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged consumers to stop scarfing down raw cookie dough. Since then the recall pool has widened to Betty Crocker Super Moist Party Rainbow Chip Cake Mix and its less-popular cousin, a carrot cake mix, as well as Golden Dipt breaded jalapeno nuggets and now the cheese biscuit mix.

Also on the recall list: blueberry-flavored “nuggets” in Krusteaz Blueberry Pancake Mix.

The flour was definitively identified as the culprit when genetic testing in June confirmed that the flour contained E. coli that matched the strain isolated from sick individuals.

General Mills has recalled more than 10 million pounds of Gold Medal flour, Signature Kitchens flour, and Gold Medal Wondra flour since the outbreak began.

There have not been any deaths reported in the bacterial outbreak. The strain of E. coli that’s cropped up in the cases can cause stomach pain, diarrhea, and dehydration.

The CDC recommends that anyone with the contaminated products toss them in the trash. A full list of affected products is available here.

by Michelle Reserve  –   The Daily Meal

It’s hard to imagine life without pickles — those crunchy delights straight out of the jar, the tangy, sweet surprises tucked into a burger, or the sliced spears served fresh, ready for the tasting on the side of your plate. When we hear the word “pickle” we tend to think of the classic cucumber variety (which goes by “gherkin” if you’re passing through the UK or Ireland), but there are plenty of other pickled foods, like vegetables, fruits and even meats, that can make the transformation, too.

How to pickle

Pickling is the process of preserving or extending the lifespan of food by either anaerobic (without oxygen) fermentation in brine or immersion in vinegar. Both methods affect the food’s texture and flavor and are easy to do. To use cucumbers as an example, immerse the cucumbers in brine (a mixture of water and salt to preserve vegetables) or vinegar, and leave them to ferment for a period of time, typically at least 24 hours and up to one week.

History of the pickle

While the exact origin of the pickle is a little unclear, historians can date pickling all the way back to 2400 BC, when archeologists and anthropologists believe the ancientMesopotamians first pickled. Around 2030 BC, an influx of cucumbers from India helped begin a tradition of pickling in the Tigris Valley, the results of which were enjoyed as a delicacy.

Pickles were brought to the New World by Christopher Columbus, who is known to have grown cucumbers for the purpose of pickling on the island of Haiti. Columbus wasn’t the only famous fellow in history to be a fan of the pickle, though.Napoleon was said to have valued pickles as a health asset for his armies, so much so that he offered the equivalent of $250,000 to anyone who could develop a way to preserve the food safely. The man who won the prize in 1809 was a confectioner named Nicholas Appert, who figured out that if you removed the air from a bottle and boiled it, the food wouldn’t spoil. His discovery is regarded as one of the most influential culinary contributions in history.

Why eat pickles

Made popular in the U.S. though Jewish immigrants who came to New York from eastern Europe, pickles are used by Jewish delis as a palate cleanser. Not only does that vinegary taste lift flavors and prep your taste buds to appreciate the next bite, but fermented and pickled vegetables also act as a natural digestif.

4 Reasons to Pick Pickled Foods
1. Pickles lighten up hearty burgers and sandwiches.

Make a date with B&B Mini Burgers at Bird & The Bottle in SF where savory burger flavors — including American cheese, grilled onions and a secret sauce — are made even tastier with a tangy kick of pickle.

A hearty pulled pork sandwich like the one at Sweet Cheeks Q in Boston, delivered on hot griddled Texas toast (extra thick sandwich bread) or a bulkie (a New England-style sandwich roll) is perfectly balanced alongside a healthy serving of pickles and onions.

Pickled shallots bump up the flavor of Maple Block Meat Co.’s signature sliced brisket sandwich in LA, piled with red cabbage slaw and green sauce and served alongside mac and cheese, plus (more!) pickles.

Made with roasted pork, ham, chicharron (fried pork belly), Dijon mayo and house-made pickles, the Cuban Media Noche atSunny Spot in Los Angeles is blanketed in mouthwatering Gruyere cheese and served with a side of plantain chips.

2. Lots of things can be pickled.

L&W Oyster Co. in NYC proves they can pickle almost anything and the results are delicious. Try the Lobster BLT bacon, arugula, tomato, Sriracha aioli and pickled garlic or the Avocado Grilled Cheese tieh Baby Swiss, Chilmole (black mole sauce), arugula pesto, semolina and pickled onion.

Get dressed up for some Fancy Radishes at Vedge in Philadelphia, prepared with smoked tamari, avocado, pickled tofu and shishito pepper.

Made with Hungarian paprika, beets, pickles and fried capers, the Beet Pickled Devil Eggs are a bright and delicious addition to the table at Early Society in Chicago.

Get your pickle fix at At Abe Fisher in Philadelphia with the Chopped liver toasted rye, served with pastrami-onion jam and pickled onions, or even The Abe Fisher Cocktail, made with Beefeater gin, Dolin Dry and Dolin Blanc vermouths and dill pickle juice.

Comfort food go-to Birds & Bubbles wouldn’t be complete without some pickle action in dish favorites, like the Baby Kale salad with beluga lentils, deviled egg sauce, pickled onion, frisee and candied sunflower seeds.

3. Pickles can be salty, sweet or both.

A classic New England plate in the summertime, the lobster roll at B&G Oysters in Boston comes on a beautifully buttered roll with fresh lobster and optional bacon, sweet and tangy butter pickles (made with sugar, vinegar, onions and spices) and French fries on the side.

The Banh Mi at Little Sister in LA brings together the basic French baguette with Vietnamese-inspired meats — cold cuts, lemongrass chicken or spiced brisket — and tops it off with plenty of light, fresh vegetables including sliced cucumber, cilantro jalapeño and delicious, tart-sweet pickled daikon radish.

4. Pickles go great with spicy and fried foods.

Southeast Asian-inspired Tiger Mama in Boston delivers a Khao Soi Chicken Drum dish made with crispy chicken, khao soi (soup) broth, shallots and lime served atop pickled greens.

At Kyirisan in Washington D.C., go for the Deep Fried Tofu with black pepper sauce, scallion and pickled carrot for an extra kick of flavor.

The Fat Ham in Philly dishes out a delicious fried chicken for those who like to spice things up. Swing by this Southern-inspired favorite for some Hot Chicken — a favorite of Chef Kevin Sbraga’s — on brioche with ranch dressing and dill pickles.

By Samantha Nelson
Daily Herald Correspondent

When Blufish opened its third restaurant in December, manager Kelly Jang wanted to do something different with the drink menu at the Vernon Hills location and looked to Chicago for inspiration.

One of the ideas she brought back was to spice up the cocktail menu with drinks like the Bermuda Triangle, a twist on a margarita made with mango jam, fresh jalapeño and a rim of the Japanese spice shichimi, and The Waterford, a spicy and nutty drink with a mix of whiskey, lime and house-made allspice liqueur. Blufish is just one of the local spots serving spicy sippers as the trend heats up bar menus throughout the suburbs.

“I think restaurants and bars are really upping their game on cocktails,” Jang said. “They really want to do something different that stands out — not just your regular cosmo or margarita.”

Nick Roberge, co-owner of Geneva’s Barrel + Rye, said the restaurant’s beverage director Sarah Geist strives to put her own spin on classic sippers like the paloma, which she spikes with cayenne pepper.

“I think now more than ever people are doing spicy or infused, adding kick where it kind of works,” Roberge said.

At Sammy’s Mexican Grill & Barin Elgin, the El Diablo margarita — made with chipotle-infused tequila, orange liqueur, fresh-squeezed lime juice and beer — proved so popular that the restaurant launched a Las Bravas Margaritas menu this week, which features four more hot versions of the classic cocktail. General manager Alfredo Rangel designed the drinks by experimenting with his collection of 100 tequilas, often incorporating flavors he enjoys from food. For example, fish tacos with mango habanero sauce inspired a mango-habanero margarita.

Another popular sipper is the Hangover Margarita, which incorporates muddled cilantro and grilled jalapeño. It’s based on a Mexican tradition that eating spicy food can counteract a night spent drinking. Management consultant Victor Rangel, Alfredo’s son, said the drink won’t cure headaches, but it does win converts to spicy cocktails.

“The first time they come and they think about a cocktail with jalapeño inside they are kind of skeptical. But after they taste it, they see the balance between sweet and sour and spicy helps the cocktail,” he said.

Spice can be used to either complement or contrast the other flavors in a cocktail, said Alex Jones, head bartender of Mount Prospect’s Bar 145, where the menu contains examples of both uses. The Bulljala features Bulleit rye, fresh jalapeños, simple syrup, lime, vermouth and ice, with the hot peppers bringing out the spice in the whiskey. Inspired by a type of Godiva chocolate, The Red Hot Winter blends house-made Thai chili-infused vodka with Godiva white chocolate liqueur served with a cocoa and cayenne powder rim and topped with whipped cream and a chili pepper.

“A lot of people get kind of taken aback by it,” Jones said. “They see the cayenne powder and the chocolate and they’re like ‘I don’t know,’ but if they try it, they love it. You have to trust your bartender.”

A consideration when using spice is consistency, leading some bartenders to prefer spicy syrups to fresh peppers.

“I like heat in things, I’m a big fan of spicy food, but it can get out of control very quickly,” saidPunch Bowl Social beverage director Patrick Williams.

“When we make a syrup, we can control it behind the scenes, and if it’s too spicy we can add more simple syrup to the recipe.”

When the chain of bars was opening its sixth location, they wanted to make a signature cocktail using local ingredients. Williams fell in love with 5 Lizard witbier from Bedford Park’s 5 Rabbit Cerveceria and played around with recipes that would bring out the beer’s lime and coriander flavors. He settled on tequila and pineapple-fennel shrub, but “it was missing some element,” he said. “We were trying out different syrups and we use a jalapeño-cucumber syrup in one of our nonalcoholic drinks. We tested it and it came together.” The result was El Numero 6, the signature drink for the Schaumburg Punch Bowl Social.

The passion for spicy cocktails has also led to the creation of hot spirits like Fire-N-Gin, the serrano pepper-flavored gin Copper Fiddle Distillery in Lake Zurich launched last year. The spirit was inspired by a version of a hot and dirty made by lead bartender Travis Livengood incorporating crushed red pepper, gin, caper juice and pickle juice.

The customer, Livengood and the distillery’s owners loved the cocktail and wanted to make it the distillery’s drink of the week, but Livengood knew it would be too time-consuming to make on a busy night. He worked on infusing the spirit with heat and now you can try the Fire-N-Gin straight, blended with Bloody Mary mix or as part of the Mango en el Fuego, which also features mango nectar, triple sec, lime juice and cayenne pepper.

“It’s really taken off,” Livengood said. “We sell more of that gin than the regular gin.”

Texas Tito’s President, Chris Snider, was at the Texas capitol yesterday in meetings with Texas Department of Agriculture and European importers looking for Texas agricultural products including pickles and peppers.